08.31.11 · 3 PM

This rings true: The Jewelers prepping for unscripted series

Long known as The Entertainment Capital of the World, Las Vegas is becoming The Unscripted Series Capital of the World, too. Las Vegas bauble empire The Jewelers of Las Vegas is seeking “fun, outgoing people with interesting, funny or emotional stories behind their jewelry purchases” to appear on a show during September as potential customers for an unscripted series. Pilgrim Films and Television Inc., the same crew who brought American Chopper to The Discovery Channel, is herding the most interesting ... Read more...

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08.30.11 · 6 PM

Clint Holmes’ Las Vegas ride leads to monthly residency at Smith Center’s Boman Pavilion

The first time I ever saw Clint Holmes perform live was about a decade ago, and it was not at Golden Nugget or Harrah’s. It was at Las Vegas Athletic Club on Sahara Avenue and Decatur Boulevard. Holmes was pedaling with great intent on an exercise bike. I recall him being wreathed in sweat, watching a Yankees-Red Sox game on one of the gym’s TVs. I was wandering by, smoothie in hand, and introduced myself as “a big fan,” though ... Read more...

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08.29.11 · 6 PM

At the wide-ranging Cosmopolitan, it’s not all Black and White

What’s amazing about The Black and White Party is you’re pretty well free to wear anything, so long as it keeps with the theme of the event. There were several cases in point at Saturday night’s 25th annual event, staged this year at Boulevard Pool at the Cosmopolitan. I’ll choose the smallish gentleman hustling up the Cosmo convention center walkway into the big shindig. He wore … well, nothing. Or close to it. He was wearing black leather briefs and ... Read more...

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08.29.11 · 11:40 AM

Dish storms to ‘Name That Tune Live’ title, but Sabbath stops her from the grand prize

Curse the song “Electric Funeral.” Tricia McCrone sure is. That is the name of a tune by Black Sabbath, a deep cut off the band’s 1970 album “Paranoid.” Pantera has covered “Electric Funeral,” and Beavis and Butt-Head have performed air guitar to the song, to great comedic effect. The number that describes a society of post-nuclear war mutants living in a vast garden of fallout is relatively obscure even for fans of heavy metal. A lot of ground to cover ... Read more...

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08.26.11 · 3:55 PM

Why is Rod Stewart kicking soccer balls at us? We answer that, and more, from The Colosseum

He’s the rare grandfather who can still musically ask his fans, “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” — but that alone does not set Rod Stewart apart. The tireless hit-maker and singer of standards (but not in Las Vegas) began his two-year, 52-show residency at Caesars Palace on Wednesday night in much the same showcase he rolled out in November. It’s a concert show boosted by a flawless nine-piece band and a trio of backing singers. Stewart attempts not to be ... Read more...

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08.25.11 · 9:30 AM

Lon Bronson talks Matt Goss, free lounge shows and ‘at the end of the day’

Lon Bronson remembers the “epiphany,” even if he’s not sure of the date or exactly how many cocktails led to the revelation. It was 1988, or maybe 1989. The site is not in question: It was Calamity Jane’s, an infamous but fondly remembered live music haunt on Boulder Highway that closed long ago. Bronson had two cocktails, maybe three, as for the first time he watched the blowout horn band Tower of Power perform live. Bronson was seated on one ... Read more...

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08.24.11 · 9 PM

Orchestra being assembled to back Jerry Lewis for ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ in MDA Telethon send-off

In the face of official denials and widespread confusion about Jerry Lewis’ role in this year’s Muscular Dystrophy Association Labor Day Telethon, sources close to the show are saying that an orchestra is being assembled to perform with the entertainment legend as part of a recorded appearance in the annual fundraising showcase. Plans are for Lewis to sing his signature show-closing number “You’ll Never Walk Alone” with a 33-piece orchestra as part of a final send-off for the man who ... Read more...

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08.24.11 · 3 PM

How The Unknown Comic turned an 8-minute bit into comic history

A quick conversation at V Theater with Sin City Comedy Club booking and operations manager Kevin Kearney on Sunday night led to this odd note about The Unknown Comic (as if there could be any other sort of note about the bagged jokesmith). Kearney is a great piano player and for years backed The Unknown Comic onstage. As Kearney related, The Unknown Comic character was developed by longtime club comic Murray Langston, who had been booked on The Gong Show ... Read more...

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08.24.11 · 10 AM

Frankie Moreno and Rick Moonen offer an unlikely duet at The Lounge at the Palms

A wholly random trip to Mandarin Oriental’s Mandarin Bar on Saturday night led to an encounter with Frankie Moreno and his band. It was a late booking, unannounced, and Moreno stuck to playing his acoustic guitar, as it was too late to lug a piano up to the 23rd floor. Moreno is still performing as part of a 3-month engagement each Tuesday at 10 p.m. at The Lounge at the Palms. Tickets are $7, and for Tuesday’s show, expect some ... Read more...

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08.23.11 · 9 PM

As a send-off, Brody Dolyniuk takes a swipe at Snooki, DJs and the Las Vegas club scene

Yellow Brick Road founder and former frontman Brody Dolyniuk is now leaving Las Vegas, at least as his full-time residency, heading off to Southern California after his performance of Brody’s World on Friday night at Ovation at Green Valley Ranch. Dolyniuk owed the move to the cooler climate in Southern California and has been frustrated that he wasn’t able to bring his inspired rock-comedy-impressionist showcase to a Strip showroom. Characteristically, Dolyniuk is not leaving without making a point, which he ... Read more...

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08.23.11 · 4:54 PM

Why should Jerry Lewis be allowed back on the MDA Telethon? We have 2 billion reasons

“Jerry’s Kids” is the term. It refers clearly and specifically to a too-large population of young people suffering from the awful and debilitating symptoms of Muscular Dystrophy. The “Jerry,” too, is universally understood. He is Jerry Lewis. But over the past several weeks, Lewis’ name has been cloven from the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the organization for which he has raised more than $2 billion to help “his kids.” Lewis’ edging away has been gradual, measured and announced in an off-handed ... Read more...

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08.23.11 · 12:35 PM

For a Las Vegas vibe, Matt Goss takes his Caesars Palace performance to Hollywood

In the world of Matt Goss, there is always room in the same audience for such mismatched celebs as Los Angeles Lakers power forward Ron Artest and 1980s teen pop sensation Deborah “Debbie” Gibson. They were on hand, along with about 70 other invited friends, fans, admirers and music industry types Thursday night at Capitol Studios at the famed Capitol Records building in Hollywood. The event was, naturally, centered on music, as Goss and his backing band performed a live ... Read more...

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08.19.11 · 4:14 PM

‘Brody’s World’ spins once more at Ovation, then Brody’s world is Southern California

To quote one of his favorite bands, Brody Dolyniuk is goin’ to California. Zigging just when we thought he was about to zag, the former frontman of the classic-rock band Yellow Brick Road has formally informed his fans that he is leaving Las Vegas. That happens come Monday (it’ll be alright), just four days after Dolyniuk fires out another performance of his rock ’n’ roll impression show Brody’s World on Friday night at Ovation at Green Valley Ranch (tickets are ... Read more...

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08.18.11 · 1:36 PM

‘Echoes of the 60s’ reminds that not all fun shows can survive in Las Vegas

The Twitter feed has been burning up to see a show at V Theater at Miracle Mile Shops, and, sadly, by the time I made it to see Echoes of the 60s at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood this week, the show had just about ended its run. Too bad, too, as the short-lived Echoes reminds of how even a good show struggles to find its groove in a tight economic climate. Echoes is a well-paced, vocally and musically ... Read more...

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08.17.11 · 7 PM

If it’s Zowie Bowie and ‘Name That Tune’ at Imperial Palace, expect rampant frivolity

I can name that couple in three adjectives: Tan. Blond. Buxom. Zowie Bowie! The great ride for Zowie Bowie continues this week at Imperial Palace as the ever-reinventing duo uncorks Name That Tune Live. The stage version of the famous game show is to be helmed by Chris Phillips and Marley Taylor and opens Thursday at 3 p.m. The show runs daily, dark Tuesdays, with a 7:30 p.m. show added Fridays. The show’s premiere is set for today. Tickets are ... Read more...

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08.17.11 · 1:39 PM

Rick Faugno of ‘Jersey Boys’ ready to shed Frankie Valli role for ‘Body & Soul’

Unless you are in fact Frankie Valli, you can’t be Frankie Valli forever. At least this is true of Rick Faugno, who for five years has portrayed Valli in various productions of Jersey Boys. Faugno has played the Valli role for 3 ½ years in the standing production at Palazzo. But as of Oct. 9, Faugno-as-Valli will cease, as the antsy song-and-dance man embarks on a one-man show (his own, conveniently enough) titled Body & Soul at Las Vegas Hilton’s ... Read more...

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08.15.11 · 7:10 PM

Priscilla Presley ‘excited’ about Cirque du Soleil’s changes to ‘Viva Elvis’

De-emphasizing the story of Elvis Presley in the Cirque du Soleil production Viva Elvis at Aria is fine with one of the people who knew him best. “I am excited that Cirque Du Soleil has decided to modify Viva Elvis is how Priscilla Presley put it last week. “It will make a good show an even more exciting show.” Priscilla supplied her opinion through spokeswoman and Rogers & Cowan PR executive Samantha Mast. Last week, the production announced that it ... Read more...

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08.15.11 · 2:34 PM

A final tribute to the Funny Man, who brought a lot of life to mine

Before I understood who this man was, that he was my mother’s father and thus my grandfather, I knew him as the Funny Man. In my head, I called him that. He was the Funny Man, and he looked the part. There was a nameless character in the old Warner Bros. cartoons, a little fellow dressed in overalls, who looked just like the Funny Man: Oversized in the schnozzle, happy to grow his hair long and wavy and sporting a ... Read more...

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08.13.11 · 12 PM

It’s lace and frills, yet no frills, at this year’s Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Palms

Never has the term “less is more” been more apt than at this year’s Midsummer Night’s Dream — An Enchanted Lingerie Masquerade. “It’s going to be vintage Midsummer Night’s Dream,” elaborates Palms owner George Maloof. “It’s going to be about the experience, the talent, the pure lingerie. No froufrou.” No froufrou, but if there could be no-frill frills, this year’s event would be that. The news release announcing the party promises “more than 50 wandering performers dressed as mystical characters ... Read more...

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08.10.11 · 1:07 PM

John Padon muses on ‘Sin City Comedy’ false start and performing for an audience of one — Steve Wynn

John Padon jokes that a few years ago, he found himself “staring down the barrel of a cruise ship career.” Chasing divorcees and overindulging in the ample food and drink available while the ship is at sea are not for him. “You play one night a week, and if it’s early in the week, you’re famous, which is good and bad,” he said during the latest episode of Kats With the Dish on KUNV 91.5-FM. “You’ve got fans, or you’ve ... Read more...

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08.8.11 · 6 PM

Richard Belzer: Jerry Lewis’ ouster from MDA smacks of ‘indignity, disrespect’

One of the more distinctive figures spotted at the South Point during and after the 2010 Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon was veteran comic and dramatic actor Richard Belzer. Lewis and Belzer are close friends, which would explain why Belzer has a tattoo of Lewis on his right shoulder. Lewis had the same tattoo inked to his shoulder before last year’s show, but his was a temp. A cast member of Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & ... Read more...

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08.8.11 · 12:33 PM

Eight factoids from a Las Vegas-to-Boise flight on Delta

This was a time when any airline would do. I hit a few discount-travel websites looking for a flight from Las Vegas to Boise, less than 24 hours in advance, and found a ticket on Delta: One stop in Salt Lake City, change plans, land in BoiseVille at 11 p.m. Total cost, with tax: $99. Giddy-up. Following are Eight Things to Report From My Flight to Boise (with one stop for an hour layover in SLC): 8. On select Delta ... Read more...

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08.4.11 · 7 PM

It’s a happy interrogation as Tony Hsieh visits ‘The Colbert Report’

Opening The Colbert Report on Monday night, host Stephen Colbert said of his guest, “If we don’t like him, we can return him free of charge!” The guest was Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, whose Las Vegas-based company is famous for its acute attention to customer service. Known for its inventive online retail business model and relentlessly happy approach to its company operations, Zappos plans to move from Henderson to City Hall in Downtown Las Vegas next year. Hsieh appeared with ... Read more...

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08.4.11 · 4:15 PM

David Saxe of ‘Vegas! The Show’ is a better show producer than prom date

Vegas! The Show producer David Saxe sometimes refers to the time he was onstage with Folies Bergere at the Tropicana. That was in 1969. It’s true. At that time, Saxe was a once non-listed (and volunteer) member of the cast. His mother, Bonnie, was a Follies showgirl who danced for a time while pregnant with David. So Saxe is the rare Las Vegan whose is actually a “pre-native” to the city’s entertainment scene. (I’ve searched and searched but sadly cannot ... Read more...

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08.4.11 · 4:02 PM

In two swift paragraphs, Jerry Lewis’ run as MDA chairman and telethon host ends

In May, the Muscular Dystrophy Association announced that it would cut its telethon back to six hours and that the show’s legendary host, Jerry Lewis, would make a final appearance to sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” as a proper sendoff. Well, all that changed radically this afternoon. In a two-paragraph news release, the MDA effectively ended Lewis’ five-decade affiliation with the organization. In full, it read: “The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) announces that today Jerry Lewis has completed his run ... Read more...

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08.4.11 · 11:57 AM

Sometimes it takes an army, and the Clarion charity show was such a time

Earlier, I wrote of the Jeff Jordan benefit show at Ovation at Green Valley Ranch. The first half of a two-show charity double-header on Sunday was rolled out at Clarion’s Fame Theater, a fundraiser for the Salvation Army’s relief fund. The Clarion is the site of the ill-fated Debbie Reynolds Hollywood Hotel, and, later, the ill-fated Greek Isles Hotel and Casino. The Clarion’s current headliner is enthusiastic illusionist Jan Rouven, star of the aptly titled Illusions: Starring Jan Rouven. Something ... Read more...

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08.2.11 · 4 PM

Michael Grimm, ‘Rat Pack,’ Zowie Bowie, twin tappers: Jeff Jordan benefit has it all

This was the scene at Ovation at Green Valley Ranch on Sunday afternoon: Positioned randomly onstage singing “A Little Help From My Friends” for the finale of the Jeff Jordan benefit show was a hodgepodge of Vegas talent such as Michael Grimm, Domenick Allen, Leigh Zimmerman, Zowie Bowie’s Chris Phillips and Marley Taylor, superb jazz vocalist Michelle Johnson and members of The Rat Pack Is Back at the Rio. Oh, and comic Jeff Cohen was loaning his vocal stylings, in ... Read more...

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08.2.11 · 4 AM

Onstage oddities, and how the MGM fire led to a worldwide crystal shortage, from ‘Jubilee!’

The night began with something that hardly ever happens: Teller speaking from the stage. It ended with something that happens regularly: Matt Goss singing from the stage. Teller did speak from the stage to kick off the 30th anniversary performance of Jubilee! at Bally’s, reading a prepared statement in support of the show on behalf of himself and performing partner Penn Jillette. Teller related that his speaking role was akin to a chair actually speaking, and thus when it happens, ... Read more...

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Featured Cocktail

Cocktail of the Week May 23, 2012
by Sabrina Chapman

Rhumbar’s Scorpion Bowl stings so good

Ready to celebrate the official start of summer? Prepare for takeoff. Memorial Day Weekend picks up speed with the addition of Rhumbar’s Scorpion Bowl ($49) to the weekend’s party lineup. ...
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